The Consecratio Coins for Commodus – a Reconsideration
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Liesbeth CLAES♣* THE CONSECRATIO COINS FOR COMMODUS – A RECONSIDERATION Abstract – is article proposes a review of the consecratio coins for Commodus issued shortly aer this emperor’s death. Most standard numismatic catalogues list these coins as being of doubtﬔl authenticity. However, a typological and stylistic analysis of the several assembled specimens of the type suggests that it was issued by an eastern mint, most likely Alexandria. Furthermore, the die axis and the message content of the specimens suggest that the coins were issued in 195 ad, indicating that the emission of the coins was related to the retrospective adoption of Septimius Severus into the Antonine House. he consecratio coins for commodus are often used by modern scholars as authoritative source material, mainly in the discussion of [1] T Commodus’ renovatio memoriae during the reign of Septimius Severus. Indeed, generally, these coins are attributed to the mint of Rome and dated to 195 ad, the year in which Commodus received the honour of deification from the Senate and in which Septimius Severus was retrospectively adopted into [2] the Aurelian gens. ree different consecratio varieties are recorded in the __________________ * Radboud University Nijmegen. E: L.Claes@let.ru.nl My gratitude goes out to Dr. Richard Abdy (British Museum), Prof.Dr. Johan van Heesch (Coin Cabinet of the Royal Library of Belgium), Prof. Dr. Olivier Hekster (Radboud Uni- versity Nijmegen) and Prof. Dr. Fleur Kemmers (Goethe Universität Frankﬔrt am Main), who kindly read through earlier versions of this article. eir comments have greatly im- proved the original dra. anks also to Dr. Curtis Clay (Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.), Mr. Doug Smith and Mr. Rainer Blaeser for sharing their ideas about the Severan eastern coinages, and for explaining the unpublished theories of Bickford-Smith. For the article’s final form and for its remaining blemishes, I am responsible. [1] Hasebroek 1921, p. 90-91; Baharal 1996, p. 21; Turcan 1998, col. 1004-1005; Hek- ster 2002, p. 189-191; Lichtenberger 2011, p. 321-322, esp. note 14. Not all scholars refer to the consecratio types for Commodus : Kaiser-Raiss 1980; Rubin 1980, p. 212-214; Szaivert 1989; Birley 1999, pp. 184-188 and 198-199; von Saldern 2003; Rowan 2012, p. 46-48. [2] Dio 76.7.4; ha, Vita Severi 10.6, 11.4; Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus 20.30; bmc re v, p. xci; ae 1951 75 = cil viii 27374; cil viii 1333, 5699, 5700, 9317, 23707; ils 420, 422, 431; irt 389, 393; Hekster 2002, p. 189-191; Kienast 2004, p. 148. rbn clviii (2012), p. 207-224. 208 the consecratio coins for commodus – a reconsideration standard numismatic catalogues, such as Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l’Empire romain (Cohen), Roman Imperial Coinage (ric), Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (bmcre) and the Roman Imperial [3] Coins in the Hunter Coin Cabinet (hcc). All these posthumous coins, how- [4] ever, are noted to be of doubtﬔl authenticity. To this day, it is not clear when and where these three varieties were issued, and there are many doubts con- cerning whether the types are genuine. In the past fieen years, several posthumous specimens for Commodus have turned up at reliable numismatic web-auctions, and in 2005 one was even [5] donated to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Aer checking several coin museum collections, renowned numismatic databases and auction catalo- [6] gues, I was able to assemble 16 silver specimens for Commodus. All 16 silver specimens depict a laureate Commodus with the legend IM COMM ANTON AV G P I V S R B I T (sic), and their reverses display an eagle on a globe with the legend CONSECRATIO. ough additional specimens may well exist, some conclusions can already be drawn from this set. rough this newly assembled material, then, this article aims to analyse the consecratio types for Commodus in order to determine whether the types are genuine, and if so, which mint issued them and when. ese answers would be very helpﬔl with a view to sub- sequent coin studies in general, and for scholars who work on Commodus, his deification, and Septimius Severus’ role in it, in particular. As mentioned above, the standard catalogues Cohen, ric, bmcre and hcc listed three varieties of consecratio types for Commodus: 1. A silver type displaying Commodus’ laureate portrait with an eagle stand- ing on a globe on the reverse. Based on the highly unreadable types conserved in the British Museum in London and the Hunter Coin Cabinet in Glasgow, the catalogues noted for the obverse legend M COMM ANTON AVG PIVS __________________ [3] Pink 1933, p. 17-54, does not mention the consecratio coins for Commodus in his analy- sis of the Severan coins. [4] Cohen, Commodus 2, 61; ric iii Commodus 263a,b; ric iv.a Septimius Severus 72a, 736a; bmcre v, 42, 143; Robertson, hcc ii, Commodus 69. In Hill 1964, the debate around the consecratio types for Commodus is omitted. [5] Ancient Auction House, Florida; Apollo Numismatics; beastcoins.com; Bruun Rasmus- sen Kunstauktioner; Classical Numismatic Group; Forum Ancient Coins; Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co; Gorny & Mosch; Numismatica Ars Classica; wildwinds.com. Henri Delger donated on 17/iii/2005 a consecratio type for Commodus (cm.205-2005) to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Two specimens are known to me from the pri- vate collections of Mr. Rainer Blaeser and Mr. Doug Smith. Most likely, the publication of the article of Bickford-Smith in rin 1994/95, p. 53-71, mentioning and dating the con- secratio type for Commodus, could have triggered trade to sell these types as genuine. [6] A list of these coin museum collections and numismatic databases is provided at the end of the article. liesbeth claes 209 [7] BRIT and for the reverse legend CONSECRATIO. e other 14 assembled specimens correspond to this description, and they provide the evidence to state with confidence that the obverse legend ought to be read as IM COMM ANTON AVG PIVS RBIT. (sic) 2. A silver type exactly as type 1, only Commodus’ nomenclature reads M [8] COMM ANTO AVG PIVS FEL. A specimen is listed as being in the Biblio- thèque nationale de France in Paris. However, following inquiry, only a speci- men of type 1 was found there, which suggests that type 2 was ‘created’ by misreading the obverse legend of type 1, and subsequently found its way into [9] the standard numismatic catalogues. 3. A sestertius depicting a laureate Commodus with the legend M COMMOD ANT P FELIX AVG BRIT P P. On the reverse, a female figure (Vesta?) is standing le by a lighted altar, holding a patera and a sceptre, with the legend CONSECRATIO SC. e sestertius was recorded in the now lost collection of [10] count Wiczay of Hungary. Although samples of this variety can still be found, it is highly unlikely that the type was genuine, because it seems to be an ancient hybrid of a Roman Commodus obverse with a Roman consecratio [11] reverse of Faustina the Elder. Summarizing : all 16 specimens assembled from trade and museums, in- cluding the British Museum and the Hunter Coin Collection, are of type 1, depicting a laureate Commodus with the nomenclature IM COMM ANTON AV G P I V S R B I T and a consecration eagle. e other types are therefore very unlikely to have existed as proper types in Antiquity. Of course, that does not mean that the type 1 specimens themselves are genuine. In order to clarify that point, the next section focuses on the assembled specimens of type 1, in order to know when and where these specimens were issued. Analysis shows that the 16 assembled specimens of type 1 were struck with 3 different obverse dies and 7 different reverse dies, which suggests that the __________________ [7] ric iii Commodus 263a = ric iv Septimius Severus 72a = bmcre v, 42 = Robertson, hcc ii, Commodus 69. e inventory numbers of the specimens are for the British Museum: 756, Coins & Medals bnk r.618 and for the Hunter Coin Cabinet of the University of Glasgow 28 002. [8] Cohen, Commodus 61 = ric iii Commodus 263b. [9] e inventory number for the Bibliothèque nationale de France is fg 5944. [10] Cohen, Commodus 2 = ric iv Septimius Severus 736a = bmcre v, 143. Count Wiczay of Hungary had an enormous ancient coin collection, which he, together with F. Caronni, published in two volumes : Musei Hedervarii numos antiquos graecos et latinos descripsit, Wien 1814. Aer Wiczay’s death in 1825, the coin dealer Rollin from Paris bought his entire collection, c.1830. Later, however, the collection was divided. Some coins were bought by the coin museums in Vienna and Paris, but the bulk of Wiczay’s collection entered trade and passed to many other private collections. Dr. Curtis Clay on https//: www.forumancientcoins.com/wiczay [last checked on 28/xi/2011]. [11] ric iii Antoninus Pius 1130. Dr. Curtis Clay was so kind as to point this out to me. 210 the consecratio coins for commodus – a reconsideration [12] issue’s output was substantial. Moreover, the number of different dies involved shows that the type was no accidental hybrid made during one day’s work session. Unfortunately we do not possess information on the technical details of all assembled specimens, but those for which we do always show a die axis of 6 o’clock (Ò), suggesting that they were struck in one emission. e diameter of the 16 specimens varies from 16 to 19 mm, and is on average 18 mm. Most specimens have a mass between 2.49 and 2.79 g, which indicates that the individual specimens differ significantly from each other.